On my personal blog I wrote about learning how to
juggle which I feel like I'm doing.
Just briefly, I'm promoting No Sanctuary,
my latest Rocky Bluff Crime novel from Oak Tree via the Internet every
way I can think of.
I've started a new book in the series and have another done that I need
to go over before sending it in. I'll soon have to do that with a book
I've just finished in another mystery series I've authored with another
publisher. And it's possible I'll be ghost writing another
book--something I do periodically. Oh, and I'm also the program chair
for the Public Safety Writers Association conference. http://www.publicsafetywriterc.com
Oak Tree publisher will be there. This is a great conference.
Okay, this is what I'm doing so far in the promo of
No Sanctuary.
Planned book launch at my church, made posters, will send out emails and
post where locals will see it.
Doing twitters every so often about book. Everyone should be using
twitter.com
Posting on my personal blog every single day. (Not always about book,
but sneak it in whenever possible. http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com
Posting periodically on my Rocky Bluff P.D. blog. http://rockybluffpd.blogspot.com
Basically this is a blog about the town of Rocky Bluff. Characters post
from time to time.
I also post once a week on the Stiletto Gang blog--don't talk about my
book there all the time, but do sneak in stuff at times. Once every two
weeks I'm on Make Mine Mystery.
Once I get books, I'll be sending some out for review--always ask
reviewer first if they'd like to review the book.
I talk about my book on different listserves that I'm on.
The month of March I'm doing a virtual blog tour. I'll certainly be
letting everyone know where I'll be each day so you can follow me along
if you're so inclined. I've done several blog tours and they're fun but
time consuming.
I'm going to several conferences and conventions: Epicon, Mayhem in the
Midlands, California Crime Writers conference, and Public Safety Writers
Association.
I've already lined up several speaking engagements: Sunny arranged for
the Hanford Library,I'll have a booth at the Celebration of the Whales,
Willow Bridge Book Store, Yosemite Romance Writers, L.A. Times Book
Festival, San Joaquin Sisters in Crime, Writers of Kern. That's through
June.
Hopefully, that'll give some of you ideas.
I'm trying to get more library gigs, especially this summer.
I'm looking forward to it all.
Marilyn a.k.a. F.M. Meredith |
To cyber-socialize or not to
cyber-socialize? That is the question.
My New Year's resolution for '09 was to finally,
seriously and extensively take a look at all the social sites I kept
hearing about. My Space. Face Book. Crime Space. Twitter. Blogs. No more
letting the info slide by, no more shaking my head and saying, “Who's
got time for all this bulls__t?” I would do an investigation, just like
my sleuth Christy Bristol. I would finally find out what all the fuss
was about.
First, I had to learn to put on the brakes. I was
painsaking setting up my profile, tentatively adding friends, photos, an
opinion or two. People responded. “Will you be my friend?” Uh, yeah,
guess so. Messages began to flood my mailbox.
I found myself overloaded with all these strangers
clamoring for attention. I decided to create a folder to stuff the
socializers in until I could find time. Sunday mornings were free
because business emails slowed on weekends.
As I took time to look at blog sites, I noticed
links listed. My former training as a narc secretary kicked in. Where I
once sifted through allegations to detect clues on drug trafficking, I
now investigated these links for info. I speeded the process by copying
the entire group and creating a new folder titled Blog Sites. I could
already see where this was going to become unwieldy, so as I checked
each one out, I discarded what I couldn't use and put the “possibles” in
alphabetical order.
Yes, I'm a bottom feeder. Let others do the work,
I'll reap the rewards. I discovered an incredible number of sites and
slammed profile on in record time. I tossed in photos, never the same as
the other sites. I recycled good blogs, figuring I'd find a different
readership at each site. I insisted my friends from my publishing house
(Oak Tree Press) join me. I was a brat.
The work immediately paid off. People invited me to
guest blog. Would I consent to be interviewed? Would I like my newest
book, WHERE ANGELS FEAR, be reviewed? My Murder Circle was named a
professional site by Linked In (yes!). My googled hits tripled in two
weeks.
But, with success comes controversy. Those I left
behind in the dust, the naysayers, carped that I wasn't doing any “real”
writing. Or, why should they follow my lead without a book to market? On
a panel in Hawaii, two major authors cautioned, “You should all be
writing books, not wasting time on these sites.” Even the moderator let
out a gasp (and befriended me as soon as we returned to the mainland).
Waiting means playing catch-up. Smart writers
create a presence that will be ready when their first book is published.
The rest of us, late to the game, are running to keep pace. Being
aggressive pays off when it comes to selling books.
The way I see it, writers are now divided into two
categories: Those who “socialize” with the possibility that their
efforts will pay off in the end, and those who are “unsocial” and assume
hard work will eventually be rewarded in sales.
My opinion? Do nothing and nothing is all you
get.
Sunny here.
All this talk about diminishing venues to speak and sign,
difficulty getting book sales and name recognition makes me
wonder--how far out of the box are you willing to think?
I live in a small town, pop. 23,000 (Lemoore). Ten miles away is
a larger town (Hanford). Forty miles away is the Big City
(Fresno).
I lived in the Big City over 25 years and was never able to get
a signing or even a book launch. The local newspaper ignores
local authors in favor of canned wire reviews of authors who
would never set foot in this part of California. What good was
that doing me?
When I moved back to my hometown, I was asked to write a monthly
column on writing in the weekly newspaper. They practically
created an entertainment section just for me. I sought to fill
it with other book news and author interviews. I did this
without pay. I became known as "the local mystery writer." Nice.
The Hanford library read one of my columns and asked me to do an
event. It was such a great experience, I asked if I could help
with the author program and filled the calendar with local
authors all the way to 2011. I also write all the newspaper
articles and contact the media. Free of charge.
An even smaller town, Chowchilla, put on a Local Authors Event.
It cost nothing, but was set in a small room, little media
notification and not well attended. I used the event to grab
business cards from every author. Why couldn't I do a similar
event in Hanford?
I asked the same question of my library. I was offered free use
of the Veterans Building, picked a date, and put out a call for
authors. Over 23 have responded so far. The event will be free
to the public, widely publicized and the local ice cream parlor
(best ice cream in the world, we are a dairy region) may be
giving us coupons to go with book sales.
Okay, the point of my blog: instead of wondering where all the
good sales venues are, why not create them? Not just for
yourself, but for all the authors in your area. Why not just do
what I did--ask. Sometimes it just takes one person to get the
ball rolling.
Keep in mind, I did this with no pay. Yes, it took time from my
life and writing. However, it has resulted in a higher profile
in my region and kept my name out there to the public. I've also
become the de facto hub of a writers' consortium since I have
all the contacts. You need a speaker? Call me.
There are a few things you must be willing to do, but then, you
should be doing them already. I became familiar with the movers
and shakers in my small towns, including the Board of Education,
the Sheriff and Police Departments (for crime writers), the
junior college, high schools, tourist board, woman who holds the
Indian casino purse strings, and the wife of the commander on
the local military base. I did this by hand-distributing flyers
the library made for upcoming speakers. I also interacted with
all the sorts of writing groups in the area: Sisters in Crime,
Romance Writers, various critique groups and reading groups.
Key to everything is the media. I took the time early on in my
career to contact every newspaper in the area, especially small
publications looking for newsworthy articles. I check
periodically to make sure the same reporters are covering
features. I ask what their deadline is for community news
announcements. I ask if it would help if I drafted or wrote the
article for them. Having been a newspaper woman in the past, I
know these people are underpaid, overworked, underappreciated
and stressed. To have someone offer to take some of the load off
is heaven-sent. Do I get paid? No.
But I do get rewarded. My town is talking about giving me a book
launch at the prestigious Carnegie Library. My books sell. I get
written up in the media. I have two towns behind my career. I
know people. We do lunch. They pay.
I'm not suggesting this philanthropic approach will work for
everyone. If it's only your purse strings you are concerned
with--not your fellow authors or your publisher's sales
figures--then so be it. However, these are tight economic times.
You can lament the buying public or you can offer them a free
experience and hope they respond generously. Give a little to
get a little.
So, ask yourself--how big is that box you're in? Don't you want
to peek and see what's outside the box?
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Your
Internet Presence...
The myriad of options
available on the Internet make it the best playing field leveler around.
Many are low cost or no cost ways to get your name and title "out
there." Here are some examples:
- Use your email "sig block" to
announce your book, a fresh blog post or an upcoming event
- Join social networking sites such as
My Space and Facebook. Put your book cover up as your pic.
- Post on blogs or add comments to
others' posts on blogs. Don't limit yourself to writer blogs
only...join the ones which reflect your interests and list your
writing career in your profile.
- OTP has an account at BOOKTOUR.com
with a listing for each OTP author...be sure that your upcoming
events are showing on the site. Send me the updates!
- Join book-referring sites like
LibraryThing.com and Shelfari.com ...they're fun in addition to
great for promotion
- Review other books and post your
comments on Amazon.com
- Join email groups such as
MurderMustAdvertise and PublishingandPromotion and
Write.Read.Romance. There are hundreds of these!
- Sign up for Google Alerts so you can
see where your name and title are popping up on the 'net. I like to
click on these to see if I can improve the posting with a cover
image or description.
- Enter contests. Many have no entry
fee at all, and are a fun way to flash your info.
- Have a web site. There are many very
affordable options available, and there is always the option of
driving your domain into the main OTP site...free! It works like
this:
Giving With Meaning
- Visit sites where books and authors
are listed and add yourself to the roster.
- Post a video on You Tube ... there
are lots of options to create a vid at low or no cost, and You Tube
is no cost....and what a platform!
These fun, easy and mostly free can go a
long way toward attracting readers for your book...so why wait?
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